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Breakout season at right time for Broncos' Moreno

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- There is a lesson here, in Knowshon Moreno's long-awaited breakout season, for an NFL player who had been called a bust, had been benched or endured multiple season-ending injuries.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- There is a lesson here, in Knowshon Moreno's long-awaited breakout season, for an NFL player who had been called a bust, had been benched or endured multiple season-ending injuries.

Moreno went through all that in his five years in Denver. Yet as the Broncos prepare for Sunday's divisional playoff game against the San Diego Chargers, he might be the most important offensive skill position player beyond Peyton Manning.

"He has just been a rock for us," Manning said.

With his 13 touchdowns – 10 rushing, three receiving – and his first 1,000-yard rushing season, Moreno proved he could be a grinder and a big-play threat.

"My thing is more just staying healthy, and everything will come to you," Moreno said Thursday.

That it all came in the final year of his contract, after two knee surgeries and after the Broncos have tried to replace him at least three times, made it all the more impressive.

"We were happy for him to get that, especially with how he had been kind of blackballed for most of his career," running back Ronnie Hillman said. "Now, in a contract year, he's balling out, and you've got to respect it."

Moreno is only 26, yet he has outlasted nearly everyone from the coaching staff and front office that drafted him 12th in 2009, and is the third-longest tenured player on the Broncos' offense. The team signed Willis McGahee to be the starter after the NFL lockout ended in 2011, and after Moreno suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in late November that year. The Broncos also took Ronnie Hillman in the third round of the 2012 draft and Montee Ball in the second round in 2013.

Moreno even spent eight weeks last season assigned to the practice squad, as he fell to fourth on the depth chart. Then, after replacing an injured McGahee as the starter late last season, Moreno hurt his knee in the playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens; his 2013 season was in doubt. He needed another surgery and became an after-thought for the running game until Moreno lined up as the starting tailback in the season-opener, a job he kept.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) hands off to running back Knowshon Moreno (27) in the Nov. 25 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.(Photo: John Rieger, USA TODAY Sports)

"I've always had that in the back of my mind -- if I could stay healthy that I could definitely help this team out," Moreno said. "And I feel like I did a good job of just staying healthy this whole season."

But more than that, his teammates and coaches saw Moreno was acting like a different person. Although he might still be one of Denver's most unique personalities –he wore a head-to-toe Santa Claus suit to the practice facility on Christmas, just for fun – he has emerged as a leader, in a running back room in which the next oldest player is Ball, 22. Moreno is the emotional compass of a team that could sometimes appear to be robotic.

"He's goofy," Hillman said. "Goofy as hell."

It took the focus of a CBS camera last month to show the country what his teammates already knew: On Sundays, Moreno rides an emotional rollercoaster. He routinely leads his teammates out of the tunnel before games, sprinting at full-speed to midfield. He regularly cries during the National Anthem. After plays, teammates are used to hearing Moreno yap at defensive players – and sometimes even to himself.

"His energy level is great to be around, and you can see a lot of the other guys feed off that," offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. "You let him do this thing. He never goes too far overboard. He knows where the peak is, and he'll level out and come back down."

Moreno will become a free agent after this season, an intriguing prospect given his relatively young age and 2013 performance.

"I'm not worried about 'after,' to tell you the truth. I'm just worried about right now," he said. "That's the only thing I can worry about – right now. I'm happy to be part of this team. Let's get the job done this year."